The Heir of Zeal
by Culix
Summary: About six months after Crono and the group killed Lavos, a bunch of shrouded and, as of yet, largely unidentified, guys show up to cause trouble. UPDATE: After wasting 2 weeks of my summer in Colorado, Chapter 10's finally up. Sorry for the wait...
1. Mysterious Assailants

Chapter One - Mysterious Assailants  
  
Somebody who had been passing by Medina village that night would have   
believed that the people of Medina were having a party. This is   
because they were. Not that anyone would be passing by Medina at that  
hour, under normal circumstances, at least. However, that night, the  
circumstances were anything but normal. Thus, a small group of people  
walked slowly towards Medina from the north.  
  
A Hench who was having a drink on the outskirts of the village was the  
first to see them. Had he survived, he would have told anybody who  
asked that the six of them had formed a triangle. All wore dark blue  
hooded cloaks, concealing their faces and all other parts of their  
bodies. All he could tell of their characteristics were their heights  
and the colors of their skin. At the head of the small procession was  
what appeared to be a tallish young man with very pale skin. Behind   
him stood two people, the slightly taller male and the slightly shorter  
female, with similar complexions. Behind them stood the final three  
figures. On one side was a very tall man with green skin and on the  
other, a somewhat short young person who was believed to have been   
female was positioned. Between these two walked a somewhat short young  
man, slightly less pale than the three who walked before him.  
  
The Hench thought little of these people and returned to the   
festivities after a few minutes.  
  
Medina's mayor stood on a podium that had been erected in the village  
square and began to give his speech. "My fellow Medinans, we have  
gathered here to celebrate the beginning of what I know will be a   
glorious future: the signing of a treaty to declare peace between  
Guardia and Medina, which will occur tomorrow!"  
  
From the crowd emerged several cheers and several boos.  
  
The mayor continued: "At long last, the seperation and hostility that  
have existed between the Mystics and humans will be forever lain to   
rest!"  
  
This time, there were many more cheers than boos. Also, the small   
party of 6 had arrived within earshot of the speech by this time.  
  
Having not noticed them at this point, the mayor went on with his   
speech while his audience, now with 6 additional members, listened:   
"Were Magus alive to see this rapidly approaching event, I am certain  
that he would be very pleased with what we had accomplished."  
  
During the applause that almost the entire audience broke into after  
hearing this, the backmost member of the group of six decided to speak.  
  
"On the contrary. Were Magus alive, this event that you speak of would  
not be occurring."  
  
"Oh?" asked the mayor, taken slightly aback. "And what, may I ask,   
makes you take that point of view?"  
  
"I take that point of view because I know why Guardia declared war on  
Magus, forcing him to create an army. And were Magus still alive, the  
Kingdom of Guardia, provided it still existed, would be continuing the  
war to this very day."  
  
"Is that so?" the mayor asked, beginning to grow a tad annoyed of the  
interruption. "Well, as you seem so confident in saying so, perhaps  
you would be so good as to enlighten us. Tell us what Guardia's reason  
for starting that war was."  
  
The shrouded stranger smirked. "That," he said, "is none of your  
concern."  
  
A Goblin who was standing nearby stepped towards him. "Hey," he began,  
"Show some respect to the mayor."  
  
Several other Mystics grunted in agreement.  
  
"And why in the world should I do that?" the as-of-yet unnamed backrow  
figure asked the townspeople. "Everybody knows that Magus, in his  
infinite wisdom, claimed that Ozzie should take command, if anything  
were to happen to him. Therefore, what reason do we have for believing  
that anybody other than Ozzie's descendants should be in control of  
the Mystics?"  
  
"Because, I was elected by the citizens of Medina to be their leader,"  
said the mayor. "Ozzie VIII was not, and no member of his family has   
won an election since we began having them."  
  
"Regardless, Ozzie and his descendants were appointed to be Magus'   
active retainers. Therefore, you have gone against Magus' wishes. And  
we can't have that..."  
  
A youthful, surly and slightly drunk Hench approached the group. "You   
threatening us?"  
  
The young cloaked man in the middle of the back row turned towards him.  
"I can see how the intellect of the young have flourished under your  
system."  
  
Medina's mayor had grown weary of this and decided to speak up:   
"Alright, that's enough. You can think what you like, but if you're  
going to hurl insults, I think you should leave."  
  
"No, I don't think so. I believe we shall remain here."  
  
An Imp stepped forward. "You heard the mayor: You can think what you   
want, but he wants you to leave, and so does everybody else in this   
town."  
  
The person who appeared to be the lone speaker of the group again  
responded, "What a shame. We're going to be staying in this village  
for quite some time. And there is no force that you can muster, which  
will make us leave."  
  
"We'll see about that!" declared a Gargoyle nearby, as he along with  
several other Mystics began advancing on the group of six.  
  
"Wait!" the mayor shouted, "There's no need to resort to violence. I'm  
sure this matter can be resolved peacefully."  
  
"Sorry mayor, but none of us'll be satisfied until this bastard gets  
what's coming to him!" responded the Gargoyle.  
  
The speaker for the mystery group said, "You really should listen to  
your mayor. In this situation, he is suggesting the best course of  
action for you to take."  
  
"Shove it!" an Omnicrone shouted before rushing. By this time, over   
half of the crowd of Mystics had been enraged by this point and joined  
him in his rush.  
  
"That was an unwise decision..." said, for the first time, the young  
man at the front of the group of shrouded figures. "May I?" he asked,  
turning back towards the young man far behind him.  
  
"Of course," was the response. "Do whatever you feel is necessary."  
  
"You are too kind."  
  
The young man at the front of the group stepped forward and put out his  
right hand casually. The Mystics thought nothing of this and continued  
their rush. A few of them slowed and stopped when they saw the yellow  
glowing orb that had appeared just before his hand, with a rapidly  
increasing number of small bolts of electricity being emitted from it.  
  
He then pulled his hand backwards, bringing the orb of electricity with  
it, and then slammed it forwards, releasing the orb into the crowd. By  
this time, all of the crowd had stopped and were gawking at it.  
  
The orb blazed towards them and their lives had only a moment to flash  
before their eyes before it was no more, extinguished by the massive   
burst of electrical energy that engulfed the entire mob, leaving a   
small crater in its wake.  
  
The former lone speaker of the group chuckled at the perplexed and  
mortified faces of all the remaining Mystics. "As I was saying, we   
shall be staying in this village for quite some time. I suggest you  
get used to it and, if you value your lives, make no attempt to shorten  
our stay..." 


	2. Swordsman's Requiem

Chapter Two - Swordsman's Requiem  
  
As he sat by his small fire, eating the small animal he had finished  
roasting, he decided to reflect on his life so far, though he knew   
inside that it would be a mistake to do so. He knew reflection on his  
situation in life would only bring him pain. Nevertheless, he stopped  
eating and reflected on his life in solitude.  
  
He knew he was different from the other people in Porre, but he never  
understood why everybody there had to make such a big deal about it.  
He hadn't any clue why they made fun of him for things he couldn't  
possibly help. He didn't know why they made him miserable at every  
oppurtunity, or why everybody did so. He couldn't comprehend why it  
seemed that nobody could accept him for what he was. Nobody, that is,   
except his parents.  
  
He immediately knew that, as big a mistake as reflection had been,   
thinking of the 'good times' long past was an even bigger one.   
Granted, those memories had briought him more pleasure than anything   
else had so far in his life, but, after he was done, the reality of his  
situation would cause him more pain than it had before.  
  
Regardless, he failed to stop himself from going back to better days:  
His parents' smiling faces... His parents' kind words and   
reassurances... Coming home to his parents' open arms in tears, after   
he had been picked on by the other kids all day... The day his father   
gave him his own sword and began the instruction that had existed in   
his family for so many generations... The day his mother gave him the  
clothes, modeled after a distant ancestor, that she had made for him   
after he had been training for a full year...  
  
He stopped reminiscing at this point. He knew that he would cry if he  
thought any more about what had been, but that wasn't the reason he  
stopped.  
  
His ears pricked up and he moved silently through the forest and peered  
through the bushes. He knew there was no point in doing so, and that   
he would only hurt himself more by beholding her, but, as with the  
reflection and the reminiscence, he couldn't resist looking to affirm  
that he hadn't misheard.  
  
As always, his eyes proved what his ears had already told him: that   
Malan was practicing her singing in her grove at that moment. He   
remained the single member of her audience for a few minutes, then left  
towards where he had left the remains of his dinner.  
  
He sighed. She was so beautiful... With such an enchanting voice...  
And her scent was indescribable...  
  
He hit himself in the face. Why did he waste his time with thoughts of  
her? He knew she could never love him. Besides, even if she could   
bring herself to love someone like him, she was too adjusted to living  
in a nice house to come live in the forest with him. He knew that was   
the only place that any woman and he could be happy and raise a family   
together, away from the ostracism of the rest of the community.  
  
All because of the damn curse that had been passed through his blood  
line for generations... All because of Magus...  
  
He got up from the log he had sat on and walked past what remained of   
his dinner. He didn't feel like eating at the moment.  
  
He walked deeper into the forest, to his usual training grounds, with  
his hand on the hilt of his sword. The art of swordsmanship was the   
one thing that truly took his mind off of his situation in life, so he  
practiced it more and with greater fervor than, he believed, any other  
person alive.  
  
He pretended not to notice the tears that had been rolling down his  
face as he walked. 


	3. Just Another Day

Chapter Three - Just Another Day  
  
"Crono..."  
...  
"Crono."  
...  
"Crono! Wake up already! I've been shouting at you for... half an   
hour now! C'mon! You don't want to be late for your luncheon with  
Marle and Lucca at the castle, do you?"  
  
Crono's mother waited patiently for a little while, then finally gave   
up. Once her son put his mind to doing something, little could stop   
him. Unfortunately for her, this frequently included sleep.  
  
She sighed as she went downstairs and had a cup of coffee. Her son  
would wake up when he woke up.  
  
"Hi!" said a female voice as the owner of said voice entered the  
household. The young woman had short purple hair beneath an   
odd-looking helmet, wore glasses and wore an odd orange outfit with a   
pocket that was used as a holster for her Wondershot.  
  
"Oh, hello Lucca," Crono's mother replied. "Are you here for Crono?"  
  
"Right. Since we both have to go the same way, I see no reason why we  
shouldn't go together. So, where is he?"  
  
Crono's mother took another sip of her cup of coffee and pointed   
upstairs.  
  
"He's STILL asleep?!" Lucca asked incredulously. "It's half an hour   
past noon!"  
  
Crono's mother sighed again. "Yes, but there's nothing that I know of  
doing that will get Crono up," she said afterwards.  
  
Lucca thought for a moment, then smiled wickedly and said, "Well, I   
could wake him up..."  
  
Crono's mother raised her eyebrows. "Without using napalm?"  
  
Lucca chuckled and muttered, "You know me too well...  
  
Crono's mother smiled back. "Yes I do. And don't expect me to act  
very different. I'm still annoyed about the last time you tried to  
wake up my son..."  
  
Lucca rubbed the back of her head and looked at the floor. "I'm   
sorry... but the house wasn't totally burned down so I don't see the  
problem..."  
  
Crono's mother raised her eyebrows again.  
  
Lucca blushed a little. "It woke him up, didn't it?"  
  
Crono's mother laughed. "Well, I do have to give you that much   
credit."  
  
A moment later an idea struck her. She stood at the base of the stairs  
and shouted, "Crono! Get up this minute or I'm handing the job of   
waking you up over to Lucca!"  
  
Approximately 3.4 seconds later, the red-haired youth in blue stood in   
the living room, with his eyes bugged out as his heart beat incredibly   
quickly, wondering why Lucca and his mom were rolling on the floor,   
laughing incontrollably.  
  
****  
  
Several minutes later, Crono and Lucca were walking towards the castle.  
Crono was annoyed that Lucca wouldn't stop chuckling periodically. "It  
really wasn't that funny..." he said after he felt he had given her a  
significant number of chances to restrain herself.  
  
"Yes I know bu-" Lucca's response was cut off mid-sentence as she   
broke into a new bout of laughter.  
  
Crono sighed and tried to keep a large distance between them. Lucca   
rushed after him. "Okay, okay... I'm sorry. I'll try not to laugh  
anymore..." she said once she had caught up. "But, it really was   
hilarious. I mean, you wouldn't know: you didn't see your face. That  
look was priceless!"  
  
Crono chuckled. "Well, I was genuinely terrified. I mean, no offense,  
but I'll bet there are a few things that you could teach Lavos about  
scaring the hell out of someone."  
  
He walked a little further before he noticed that Lucca wasn't with   
him. He turned around and saw her standing behind him, completely   
silent, looking sort of as though she were going to cry.  
  
He sighed and walked back towards her. "Alright, I'm sorry. I didn't  
mean that."  
  
"Oh really?" she asked, sounding as though she were on the verge of   
tears. "That's too bad..."  
  
Crono's eyes widened and he took a step back as Lucca shot him a manic  
grin and added in the voice that told him he should begin running,  
"Because I was just about to prove you right!"  
  
And so, the two friends continued along their way to Guardia Castle.  
On that day, various people reported that a crazy girl in a wierd   
helmet had chased a screaming kid with a punk hairdo into the forest   
and that they had heard an awful lot of explosions shortly after.  
  
In other words, it was just another day in the village of Truce... 


	4. How the Lunch Was Ruined

Chapter Four - How the Lunch Was Ruined  
  
Marle paced the halls of Guardia castle. She had been doing this for   
about 30 minutes now and was beginning to look rather agitated.   
  
"Where are they?" she asked nobody in particular, for the 10th time.   
"I know that I made it clear that we were supposed to have lunch an  
hour ago..."  
  
This was true. For the first half hour, she had thought they were   
simply running a little late, but at this point, she knew something was  
wrong. Something had to be wrong. They wouldn't just stand her up or  
forget about it, would they? No, of course not. They had probably   
just... Well, she couldn't really think of what excuse they would give  
she guessed that she'd just have to...  
  
"Princess Nadia!"  
  
The voice of a panicked guard who was currently rushing towards her  
interrupted her train of thought.  
  
"Yes?" she asked.  
"We're under attack!"  
"Oh?"  
"Yes! There have been reports of numerous explosions in the forest! I  
think I should lead you to safety!"  
  
Once she heard the word 'explosions' and the word 'forest' in the same   
sentence, she knew that her friends were on their way over. She smiled  
in a way that thoroughly confused the guard.  
  
"That's good."  
  
When she said this, the guard became even more thoroughly confused than  
her smile had made him.  
  
"I-It is?"  
"Yes."  
  
Marle then left the dumbfounded guard to scratch his head.   
  
As she neared the entrance, she could hear explosions more and more  
distinctly and couldn't help chuckling, as all the guards she passed  
wore expressions of alarm and uncertainty. Her chuckle added confusion  
to the list of expressions that said guards were now wearing.  
  
Just as the entrance was in sight, she watched Crono run inside,   
pursued rapidly by Lucca, who, Marle saw, was holding an incendiary  
device. Marle also noticed the slightly insane expression on Lucca's  
face - the one that she was fairly used to seeing when Lucca was intent  
on causing things to explode.  
  
"Hey, um, Lucca?" Marle began, "Would you mind putting those things   
away when you're inside the castle? I mean, hurling bombs at Yakra   
VIII when he's trying to frame my father is one situation, but tossing  
them around when you're coming for a formal dinner is a little   
different."  
  
With her irrationality pointed out by someone who wasn't Crono, Lucca  
promptly regained her sanity, put the bomb away, and blushed, smiling  
sheepishly.  
  
"Heh heh heh... Sorry about that..." Lucca replied, "So... Umm...   
How are you doing, Marle?"  
"I've been doing alright, although I was a little worried that you two  
wouldn't show up..."  
"Yeah, about that: I'm sorry we're late, but..." Lucca pointed at   
Crono, "... if this guy would wake up at a normal hour once in a while,  
we would have made it here."  
  
Crono, who had now regained his breath from being almost scared out of  
his wits and from the run through Guardia forest, joined the   
conversation, "Yeah, I'm sorry. I really wanted to get here on time,  
but I can just never seem to get up easily... unless Lucca's   
threatening to try to burn down the house - again."  
  
"Hey! I can only apologize for that so many times! Must you hold it  
against me?" Lucca shot back, testily.  
  
"Well, how would you feel if I went over to your house and tried to   
blast it away with Luminaire?"  
  
Lucca smiled disconcertingly and said, "I'd be thrilled. I've been   
meaning to see what kind of energy readings come up when you cast  
Luminaire, and I could measure those pretty easily with the ampmeters  
at my home. So if you--"  
  
She stopped because she noticed that Crono was getting sleepy and Marle  
was getting bored. She decided to solve the problem she had created by  
shouting "Napalm!" in Crono's ear, making him snap to attention and   
then saying to Marle, "So, umm... When are we going to have that   
lunch?"  
  
"As soon as all of you are in the dining room" said a voice from the   
head of the stairs.  
  
The three youths looked in that direction.  
  
"Oh, hello father" Marle responded.  
  
"Umm... Hi there, King Guardia XXIX" Lucca added slightly nervously.  
  
"Uhh... Hi... Sorry we're late..." Crono said quietly.  
  
"Think nothing of it, Crono," the king replied, "To be honest, I woke   
up not 15 minutes ago. It's nice to be able to blow off a schedule   
once in a while."  
  
He chuckled a little, causing the three former heros to relax.  
  
"Well, what are we waiting for? To the dining room!" King Guardia  
announced.  
  
****  
  
About a minute later, the four of them were seated in the dining room  
and aobut 3 minutes later, they had their meals set before them. They  
exchanged a few minor pleasantries and began eating. For the moment,  
all was smiles. This was soon to change.  
  
"Crono," King Guardia said suddenly, "I understand that you and my  
daughter seem to be enamored by one another."  
  
Crono and Marle blushed, looked downward and mumbled something to the  
effect of, "Yeah, I guess..." while Lucca looked despondantly at her  
food with a sorrowful look in her eyes.  
  
"Well, the reason I ask is that I'm curious as to whether or not you   
have any plans of--"  
  
He got no further, for at that moment, a guard rushed downstairs into  
the dining room and said, in an alarmed voice, "My liege! I apologize  
for interrupting your lunch, but we have a problem!"  
  
The four that had been having lunch exchanged glances with one another   
and then followed the guard upstairs. There, they was what he was  
talking about.   
  
The mayor of Medina village stood in the entrance of Guardia castle,   
with a few of the village's citizens. All these mystics had a   
frightened look in their eyes.  
  
"Hmm?" King Guardia asked curiously, "Demitri, I thought we were going   
to meet in Porre to sign the treaty later today. Why are you here   
now?"  
  
"W-We were, your highness," the imp began, with a tone of fear in his  
voice. "However, I must request help for an... incident that has   
recently taken place in Medina..." 


	5. Revelation at the Forest Ruins

Chapter Five - Revelation at the Forest Ruins  
  
In the village of Medina, two of the cloaked attackers from the night  
before stopped as they passed near each other.  
  
"Did you find it?" they both asked each other simultaneously, with a  
sound of hope in their voices. After that, they both sighed, realizing  
that neither had succeeded at the task they had been given.  
  
"Where could it possibly be?" the slightly younger of the two asked the  
other.  
  
"It's impossible to say," was the response he gave. "We've looked  
everywhere. It's either hidden really well, or it isn't in Medina."  
  
"Hmm..." she began. "He seemed so certain it would be here   
somewhere... We have to search harder. If we don't find it by   
nightfall, then he'll probably lead us to look elsewhere."  
  
"You're probably right. I wonder where we'll be searching after   
Medina, though... This seemed like it would be the most likely place  
for it to be..."  
  
"Yeah, but maybe some Mystic found it and then left with it or sold it  
somewhere."  
  
"That would make sense. But I hope that's not what happened. If it   
is, we might have no option but to quest after it until the ends of our  
lives."  
  
"Yes, but, even if it comes to that, you agree that it'll be worth it,  
don't you?"  
  
He sighed. "Yes. Yes, of course it would."  
  
A moment passed before he added, "Well, let's keep looking."  
  
She nodded. "Right."  
  
****  
  
The young man who had been the group's speaker the night before sighed   
as he sat upon the couch in the Mayor's house.  
  
To nobody in particular, he mumbled as he massaged his temples, "I've  
searched every square inch of this house... and not even a single clue  
to point the search in the right direction... Not even a clue that   
mentions its existence..."  
  
He turned towards the doorway as he heard footsteps.  
  
He said to the tall figure who stood there, "Did you have any luck?"  
  
The man at the door shook his head.   
  
The speaker sighed and looked with downcast eyes at the floor.  
  
"You do realize," began the man in the doorway, "that we may have to  
accept that it simply isn't here."  
  
"But it must be! Magus wrote quite clearly that he had entrusted it to  
the Mystics to keep safe until it was needed at a later time and that  
finding it would be fairly easy if we proved our power, which I believe  
we have."  
  
"Still-"  
  
A shorter more feminine figure's stepping into the doorway interrupted  
his sentence.  
  
Hope sprang into the speaker's eyes as he looked towards this   
additional person and beheld the smirk on that person's face.  
  
"Please tell me you were successful..." the speaker said quietly.  
  
The response of the newest occupant of the room was a shake of the   
head. "I'm afraid that I wasn't."  
  
The speaker glared. "Then explain your expression."  
  
"Oh, that's quite simple. I didn't find what you wanted, but Jesh just  
found something that might help..."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
****  
  
The speaker approached the small forest north of Medina village and saw  
the almost middle-aged man who had taken so many lives the night   
before.  
  
"So, what do you think you've found?" the speaker asked.  
  
"Look," was Jesh's response.  
  
The speaker did look. At first, he didn't know what to make of it.   
But, a few minutes later, he realized that the markings on the stone  
platform before him looked distinctly like what he knew was Zealian...  
  
"What is this?" he asked of nobody in particular, incredulously.  
  
Then he saw the orbs at each of the four corners. He could sense that  
they had been putting out some energy for several thousand years and  
had very recently been deactivated. He tried to think about the   
meaning of this and quickly arrived at something of an explanation.  
  
"The Forbidden Shrine..." he said in awe, "The resting place of some of  
the greatest weapons forged by Melchior..."  
  
Jesh nodded. "Exactly."  
  
"But, it was said that it was protected by a strong barrier... Only   
the pendant could break the seal... But, after all of these   
millenia... all of its power should have been exhausted... This is so   
bizarre..."  
  
"Hmm... So, you're as confused about it as I am. Damn... I was   
hoping you could shed some more light on it."  
  
The speaker sighed. "I'm afraid that I can't."  
  
Suddenly, he was struck with an idea. "Wait a moment... Surely, if  
this had existed as a large blue pyramid for so many generations, when   
it suddenly shut off, some of the Mystics would have noticed."  
  
He smiled and started walking back towards Medina village, Jesh walking  
a short distance behind him.  
  
"I'm certain that extracting the necessary information from the   
remaining villagers won't be very hard. And then we'll have a whole  
new lead..." 


	6. And So Their Adventure Began Anew

Chapter Six - And So Their Adventure Began Anew  
  
After the mayor of Medina Village, Demitri, was finished with his   
retelling, the three heros of their world's future and the king of the  
era were shocked. "How could they kill so many innocent Mystics?"   
Marle asked, appalled at the action. "Yeah. That is so totally   
inhuman!" Lucca said. She then glanced at Demitri, realized her poor  
choice of words and added hastily, "Err... Sorry... Umm... You know   
what I meant..." King Guardia responded, "Yes, you're absolutely   
right. This is the most horrible thing I've ever heard of."  
  
"We have to do something about it," Crono said suddenly. Demitri  
blinked. "Umm... I apologize young man, but didn't you hear what I  
said? One man obliterated several dozen Mystics in an instant. I   
really don't think anybody, especially a boy like you, stands much of a  
chance against them."  
  
Lucca smiled weakly. "Actually, I was thinking something like that  
when we faced off against Lavos' Core. And if we can handle that, I  
don't think these guys will be a problem."  
  
Demitri turned to her, a very surprised expression on his face, and   
said, "Who is Lavos and how could his 'core' or whatever it was   
possibly be more powerful than the people who attacked my village?"  
  
King Guardia smiled a little. "Demitri, you needn't worry. These   
three are amongst the most skilled fighters alive. If they were to   
face off against these assailants, they would achieve victory very  
easily, I would expect."  
  
Demitri seemed alarmed as he turned on the king, "What? Your highness,  
I came here to ask for soldiers and now you claim that three children  
will be more than enough! You will at least send some of your army  
along with them, correct?"  
  
Guardia shook his head. "There is no need. I would merely be  
endangering those soldiers' lives if I were to send them."  
  
The imp now seemed rather insulted. "Please, your majesty! I refuse  
to stand for this! Three kids cannot possibly be enough!"  
  
"Regardless of what you think, I know that they will handle the   
situation masterfully. Just use your own eyes, then decide."  
  
Demitri sighed. "Very well. If you're so sure this will work... then  
so be it. You can use the boat that I used to get here."  
  
"Why take a boat when we can fly there?" Marle asked.  
  
"Fly?"  
  
"Yeah, fly. That shouldn't be a problem, should it, Lucca?"  
  
Lucca responded after a moment's thought, "Well, yeah, we could use the  
Epoch to get there, and we could also use the boat, but I think that  
neither of those would be subtle enough."  
  
"So what do you suggest?" Crono asked.  
  
Lucca smiled. "The same way we first got back here after our second  
trip through time."  
  
Marle realized what Lucca meant quickly and smiled. "Right! Through  
the caves! They'd never expect something like that!"  
  
Crono nodded. "Right." When heading out into Guardia Forest, he   
added, "Well, let's get going."  
  
Lucca followed immediately, but Marle asked, "Hey, could you hold up?  
I need to get something from my room."  
  
Crono and Lucca stopped at the entrance and waited the few minutes that  
it took Marle to get her Valkyrie. "See you later father and Demitri."  
  
And so the three heros set out. As they passed by Lucca's home on the  
way to the vortex that lead to the underground caverns, Lucca's father  
stood outdoors and watched them. As they walked past, they greeted   
him, Crono with, "Hey Taban," Lucca with, "Hi Dad," and Marle with  
"Hello Mr. Ashtear."  
  
Taban smiled and waved. "Hey kids. Where are you off to?"  
  
"Medina," Lucca responded plainly. "We'll be fighting some guys who   
blew up a lotta Mystics without much trouble last night. We'll be back  
late."  
  
"Ahh. Well, have fun," Taban said with a smile. He then waved at them  
and stepped back inside. As he did this, his daughter and her two  
friends hopped into the large whirlpool near their home.  
  
A few minutes later, the three of them were walking through the   
caverns. "I never liked this place..." Marle muttered. "Yeah, but we  
won't be down here long so what does it matter?" Lucca responded.   
"It's a nice change of pace at any rate."  
  
"Right. I mean, after we spent that time travelling through eras,   
fighting monsters, visiting new places, meeting wierd new people and  
all the other stuff we did, the normal routine seems kinda... dull,"  
Crono said. "Well, you've got a point there," Marle answered. "I   
mean, I feel sorry for all those Mystics who lost their lives, but it  
is nice to do something different like this."  
  
The three of them continued in relative silence as they went deeper  
into the cave and closer to Medina village. 


	7. The Journeys of Heros and Villains

Chapter Seven - The Journeys of Heros and Villains  
  
"Hmm... So, three teenagers have the pendant..."  
  
The imp being questioned nodded as he quivered in fear.  
  
The still shrouded young woman took a step forward and continued the   
interrogation, "Are you sure that they're all from the Kingdom of   
Guardia?"  
  
The imp continued to nod, too paralyzed with terror to speak.  
  
"Well, then our course of action is clear," said the shrouded speaker,  
"We shall pay Guardia a visit until those three show up. And when they  
do, we'll suggest that they give us the pendant and give a few...  
demonstrations of our abilities until they hand it over."  
  
The shrouded young man that was only slightly older than the speaker  
said, "Yes. This should be fairly simple. But we should probably   
leave somebody behind to keep the Mystics in line."  
  
Jesh raised his hand. "They've only witnessed my power so far. I'll  
have an easy time of keeping order by myself."  
  
The speaker nodded. "True, true." He then turned towards the feminine  
person who had spoken a moment ago. "Mezuna, go prepare some   
transportation to get us to Guardia."  
  
The young woman nodded and walked until she stood on the beach that   
faced Guardia and turned her back to it. She lowered her hood,   
revealing her low cut, wavy blue hair. She closed her eyes and moved   
her hands in front of her to form a triangle and began to quietly   
chant, in an ethereal voice:  
  
"Great winged lord of the skies...  
Whose wings can create massive twisters...  
With a single great flap...  
I call upon thee...  
To grant us needed aid...  
and open the power of the wind to us!"  
  
As she chanted, a strange presence could be felt growing in strength  
in the air above them.  
  
Her eyes opened wide.  
  
"PALIDOR!"  
  
As she shouted the final word, the strange presence collected itself  
into a single point. One moment later, this point erupted into a   
portal, from which flew an enormous bird, with beautiful purple and   
white plumage, that settled before the young woman. All the nearby  
Mystics gasped and began running around in confusion.  
  
Mezuna breathed deeply and said, "There... I've summoned Palidor. We   
should be able to reach Guardia in no time."  
  
She turned to the great bird, Palidor, and said to it, "Palidor, lower  
your head so that we may climb upon your back." Palidor's head lowered  
an instant later and all of the shrouded figures, save Jesh, climbed  
aboard.  
  
The young woman then commanded Palidor, "Now, Palidor, carry us to the  
Kingdom of Guardia, across the sea." The bird flapped its large wings  
and then began to fly towards Guardia.  
  
"Good luck. See you in a few hours, at the most," Jesh shouted at them  
as they left.  
  
****  
  
"Hmm... I think we're supposed to go this way..."  
  
"... Crono..." Marle began, "No we're not..."  
  
"Oh?" Crono retorted, "And how can you be so sure?"  
  
"Because..." responded Lucca with a sigh, "We've gone around this loop  
about 7 times now..."  
  
"Oh. Well, then why didn't you stop me before?" Crono asked,   
surprised.  
  
"Because we made the mistake of thinking that you were just joking  
around..." Marle said in response.  
  
Crono began, "Well, maybe we could just go my way agai-"  
  
"No," Lucca cut him off. "Let's try the way of a decent navigator for  
once."  
  
"And who would that be?" Crono asked.  
  
"Me, you imbecile!" Lucca shouted back. She then walked a bit away   
from her two comrades and seemed to talk to herself a bit in a very low  
voice that not even the author knows exactly what she said. It is   
known that the words, 'Crono', 'idiot', 'genius', and the term 'where   
did my life go so wrong' were mentioned rather a lot.  
  
"Crono," Marle whispered, "Did you REALLY not know who she was   
referring to?"  
  
He whispered back, "Of course I did. But I've known Lucca long enough  
to know that it was the answer she wanted to hear. To be honest, I'm  
just surprised that she never did anything like that while we were  
trying to stop Lavos."  
  
Crono and Marle just waited for a little while until Lucca's tirade was  
over. She then began leading them in the correct direction.  
  
****  
  
Unbeknownest to them, a single eye, larger than a human's, was watching  
them intently. Had they been paying close attention, they might have   
seen the eye blink and the silvery bat-winged creature that possessed   
the eye fly off to another part of the caves.  
  
As it flapped off, its fairly limited mind didn't have much on it other  
than, 'Intruders! I must tell Sir Krawlie!'  
  
****  
  
Palidor's wings continued to flap as the five figures riding upon the   
bird observed Truce village before too long. Suddenly, the young man  
who appeared to be the same age as Mezuna looked a little surprised.  
  
The speaker noticed this and turned towards him. "What's the matter,   
Serus?"  
  
"One of the Scouts that I left in the caves near Medina village has   
seen some intruders. They're nothing that the monsters that I left   
there can't handle, but I was just a little surprised that there would   
be intruders. There's no real problem." He then stretched a moment  
before lying down on the bird.  
  
The speaker nodded. "Very well. If anything else comes up, just let  
us know."  
  
****  
  
Crono and the girls continued their trip through the caves. Suddenly,  
Crono saw something and ducked behind a natural pillar. Marle and   
Lucca followed suit, though they didn't yet know why. All three peeped  
out from behind it and saw a large green centipede-like creature with   
what looked like a very hideous and deformed human face, two very big  
hammer-like forearms, and a strange pincer-like tail. After a moment,  
they also saw a small silver bat-like creature with a large eye.  
  
"So, those humans are going through these caves like they own them, are  
they?" the Krawlie asked.  
  
"Yes, Sir Krawlie," the Scout responded. "They're on their way here   
right now."  
  
"Oh god..." Lucca sighed quietly as she rolled her eyes. "I REFUSE to  
put up with this again..." she added as she began going through her  
things.  
  
"Well, let 'em come! They won't stand a chance!" the Krawlie   
continued, having not heard the purple haired genius' comments. It is  
a shame for him that he didn't, because it would have been of   
inestimable value to him very, very shortly.  
  
"Oh yes! You can handle them easily!" responded the Scout, who also  
had not heard Lucca's words, but whose fate was not going to be as  
impacted by them as the Krawlie's.  
  
Lucca seemed to find what she was looking for and a wicked grin crept  
across her face. Crono and Marle wondered if they were going to enjoy  
what happened next or not.  
  
The Krawlie, blissfully unaware of all this, began to smash his two   
arms together and had the air of one who was about to have a lot of   
fun. "They'll be chopped liver!"  
  
"Uwee hee hee hee hee hee hee!" laughed the Scout.  
  
"Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha!" joined in the Krawlie.  
  
"Heh heh heh hee hee hee hee!" continued the Scout.  
  
"FUWA HA HA-- Huh?" added the Krawlie as it noticed the incendiary   
device that had almost made contact with the piece of ground at its  
feet. Or, rather, would have been if Krawlies possessed feet.   
Nevertheless...  
  
"EEP!" cried the Scout.  
  
There was a loud boom and light flooded the chamber in question.   
Fortunately for the three humans, they had ducked behind their pillar  
and avoided the green ooze that was blasted in all directions at the  
same time as the explosion. The Scout, though it had managed to evade  
the blast, was not so lucky as far as the gunk was concerned.  
  
It screeched in pain as it was blinded and began to bump into walls  
as it heard applause from Crono and Marle and failed to see a   
triumphant Lucca bowing to the two of them.  
  
It thought only one thing: 'I'm screwed...'  
  
****  
  
Serus' eyes widened as he sat up with a start.  
  
"What now?" the tall man asked.  
  
"... The intruders managed to slay a Krawlie and blind a Scout," Serus  
responded.  
  
There was silence for a moment as everybody took this in.  
  
The speaker chuckled. "Perhaps Jesh won't be quite as bored as he  
thought he'd be..." 


	8. Serus' Minions Appear

Chapter Eight - Serus' Minions Appear  
  
Quiet grunts, as well as the sound of running water falling upon   
something would have been heard in the small cavern, if anybody   
happened to be around to hear it. "I... gotta get... this stuff off...  
I have to... warn them about... the intruders..." mumbled a small voice  
to itself, in between grunts. Anyone who was watching would have seen   
the Scout with its eye open under a small hole in the cavern's cieling,  
from which water was flowing in a steady stream.  
  
"There..." it said at last, in relief. It opened and closed its eye,  
and, when it was satisfied that it could see well enough, it flapped  
through the caves as quickly as it could. It passed the three   
teenagers at a distance and stopped only to regard them with loathing   
for a moment before continuing onward. 'Damn them... They'll regret  
coming here and doing that to Sir Krawlie!'  
  
It passed several other beings as it flew. The 10 or so of them made  
something of a procession through the caves, moving towards what   
happened to be the final resting place of Sir Krawlie. Their movements  
filled the Scout with a surge of hope. 'Perfect! Serus saw the   
problem through me and now he's sent his other minions to deal with it!  
They'll make mincemeat out of those intruders! Sir Krawlie will be  
avenged!'  
  
****  
  
"Hmm?" Marle asked, suddenly.  
  
"What is it, Marle?" Lucca asked.  
  
"Don't you hear that high-pitched laugh that's echoing?"  
  
Crono and Lucca listened a moment more. Crono responded, "I can hear   
it. It's kind of annoying..."  
  
"Yeah. And it sounds kind of familiar too..." Lucca mused. "But, oh   
well" she added with a shrug.  
  
The other two agreed and all three continued.  
  
Before too long, they saw that they were being approached by figures of  
two shapes and sizes: some were portly, red-fleshed and covered in   
various places with orange armor; while the others were smaller, with   
green skin and small dark blue wings and beaks.  
  
The figures assumed fighting stances when Crono, Marle and Lucca neared  
them. Their forms were instantly recognized by the trio.  
  
"Hmm... They look like Henches and Goblins, but their color scheme  
seems different..." Marle noted.  
  
"Right. Kind of like how the ones at Magus' place looked different   
than the normal variety and were a lot tougher," Lucca added.  
  
"How they look doesn't matter much. They clearly want a fight, so I   
say we give them one they'll never forget," Crono said, unsheathing his  
Shiva Edge. "If you guys want to back off and let us through, now's  
the time," he added, for the benefit of the different colored Henches   
and Goblins, who, afterwards, stoicly maintained their positions.  
  
Lucca blinked. "Crono, something's not right. All the Mystics we've  
seen before would at least react to something like that. But these  
guys haven't even blinked."  
  
Marle glanced at their eyes, hearing Lucca's reference to them, and her  
own eyes widened as she gasped. "That's not all. Look at their eyes."  
  
Crono and Lucca did so and were similarly shocked.  
  
"Wha... What's with them?" Lucca asked, failing to conceal a tone of  
fear in her voice. "What could do this to a living thing?"  
  
"Their eyes look so... dead..." Crono said, with a note of pity for   
them.  
  
"I wish there was something we could do to help them..." Marle said,  
sounding nearly overcome with sadness for them.  
  
During all of this, the Henches and Goblins remained still, completely  
silent and seeming to all observers, quite accurately as it turned out,  
to not understand a single bit of what was going on.  
  
A large eye gazed from elsewhere in the chamber. 'Hmm... They   
actually seem to care? Perhaps I misjudged them... No... They killed  
Sir Krawlie! They can't be allowed to live for that!'  
  
****  
  
"I don't think those intruders will be a problem for too much longer,"  
Serus said suddenly.  
  
Mezuna smirked. "Well, that's a relief. You had us all a little   
worried when you said they were tough enough to handle a Scout and a  
Krawlie. Not that that's saying anything at all, but still."  
  
The tall shrouded figure turned towards the speaker, who was staring up  
at the sky with a vacant faraway look in his eyes. "Something the   
matter?"  
  
The speaker blinked and shook his head for a moment. "It's nothing...  
Nothing at all... Just-- No. It's not even worth mentioning."  
  
"Oh, come on. It's got you at least a little worried. Let us in on   
it," came the feminine voice of the shorter, as of yet unnamed figure  
who remained shrouded.  
  
The speaker sighed. "I just have a strange feeling that there's   
something special about those intruders. I have a feeling that our   
destinies will soon be permanently entertwined." He turned back away  
from his companions and towards the sky. "But, it's probably nothing."  
  
****  
  
Suddenly, while Crono, Marle and Lucca were deciding how best to handle  
the situation, one of the Henches ran forward, then tucked himself into  
a ball and started rolling at them, like some bizarre bowling ball of  
doom.  
  
"I guess we have no choice," Crono said, sadly. "I'll try not to kill  
them, though."  
  
"Right," the two girls responded.  
  
Crono ran towards the Hench, then jumped up a bit and, using the Hench  
as a stepping stone, found himself several yards above the other   
Mystics. All could quite clearly see that he seemed to be gathering  
small particles of electricity, which seemed to form from nowhere in  
particular, into a small orb in his hands. However, nobody could hear   
him as he quietly chanted,  
  
"Forces of electricity...  
that lie imbedded in the cosmos...  
gather yourself before me...  
to be released on my command..."  
  
The sparks ceased flowing and he thrust the orb forward.  
  
"LIGHTNING BLAST!"  
  
As he uttered the final two words, the orb began emitting all of the  
gathered electricity as searing bolts upon all of the Mystics. Yet   
they took their punishment without the slightest complaint and all fell  
by the time Crono landed upon the ground.  
  
The eye that watched them grew very wide indeed. 'Oh my... Oh my, oh  
my... This can't be... I-I've got to let them know!' The Scout then  
flapped incredibly quickly further into the caves.  
  
****  
  
"Serus, what's wrong?" Mezuna asked, very concerned.  
  
Serus was sitting up, an astonished and fearful look on his face.   
"My... My... My God..." He shivered. "Those... people... How can  
they have... How could they possibly done that!?" he shouted.  
  
"What is it?" the speaker asked, turning towards Serus. "Those   
intruders... They... They can use... Magic..."  
  
"What?" Mezuna asked him, surprised. "You're kidding, right?"  
  
"I- I wouldn't kid about something this big. He took out all of the  
Henches and Goblins with a Lightning Blast like it was nothing."  
  
Instead of being mortified, as Serus expected him to be, the speaker  
smiled. "Well, that will certainly make things more interesting."  
  
He then fell silent as he thought. 'Hmm... I wonder... Could these  
people also have the pendant? Probably, probably... But, let's see  
how things play out...'  
  
****  
  
"Hmm..." Lucca said as she thought. "I can't get anything, but I've  
never taken a Hench's pulse so..." She stood up from the body that she  
had been checking. "And besides, the eyes looked way too lifeless, so  
the bodies might not have even been those of living beings. In any   
case, Crono, I don't think you've killed them. Good job."  
  
Crono breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. They looked sort of like they  
were being made to do that. I wouldn't have wanted to know that I   
killed them for something that they couldn't control."  
  
Marle nodded. "Right. Now, let's go get the guys responsible for   
this!"  
  
The three heros then took off into the last stretch of the cave. 


	9. The Fall of Jesh

Chapter Nine - The Fall of Jesh  
  
"H-H-Here's your drink, s-sir" said the small blue Imp as it held out a  
mug of something in his quivering hand, a frightened expression on his  
face.  
  
"It's about time, runt" Jesh grumbled as he snatched the mug and leaned  
back in his seat. He sipped it, then swished it around in his mouth,  
as though deciding on something, while the Imp began to look more  
anxious. Finally, Jesh swallowed. "I guess it's the best that I can  
expect from this pathetic little hamlet." He then drained the mug   
while the Imp breathed a sigh of relief. Jesh thrust the mug into the  
Imp's hands. "Beat it" he said, simply. The Imp jumped before   
attempting to stutter out, "Thank you, sir," "Goodbye, sir," and "I  
apologize for my earlier failures" all at once and failing quite   
miseribly.  
  
Jesh waved his hand. "Just go," he said annoyed, as he closed his eyes  
and massaged his temples. When he looked again, the Imp was gone. He  
stood up and began pacing. After some time he sat down again, drummed  
his figners on the nearby table, got up again, and repeated the process  
several more times. Eventually, he tired of this. So, he began   
sitting down and getting up WITHOUT drumming his fingers. He allowed  
this to occupy his time for a brief period more, before he began to  
consider actually making sure that there was no funny stuff, as he had  
been ordered. Before he was able to act on this, one of Serus' Scouts   
entered the building, seeming out of breath as it settled to the floor   
in a heap. "Lord *huff* Jesh! *puff*"  
  
"Yes...?" Jesh asked, hoping that he was making it very clear that it  
would be wise to explain itself very quickly.  
  
Fortunately for the Scout, it picked up on this, but acted a little too  
accordingly.   
"Intruderscomingthroughthecavescanusemagickilledkrawliewhaddawedo?!"   
The Scout then lay there, panting.  
  
Jesh blinked at it. "What are you going on about, now?"  
  
****  
  
All throughout the house, there was nothing but silence, save the   
snoring of an old man in his bed. Had the people passing by his home  
been about to stop by for a visit, this would be soon to change, so the  
sleeping old man who shall remain nameless for the moment was lucky   
there.  
  
****  
  
"Finally. I can see the village."  
  
"Well, that's a relief," Crono responded to Marle.  
  
"I know," Lucca added. "It felt like we'd been on our way there for  
weeks."  
  
Lucca surveyed the area from a raised earthen ledge several meters from  
Medina. "Hmm..." She then added, sounding less happy to be out of the  
caves and more concerned about what they would soon be facing. "That's  
a pretty big crater..." She then looked around the village a little.   
"... and I don't see any humans down there. Actually, I don't see any  
Mystics down there, either."  
  
Crono joined her on the ledge. "I guess that means they either left or  
they're waiting around inside one of those houses."  
  
"Only one way to find out for sure," Marle said as she took off for the  
village. Crono and Lucca hopped down and joined her in her dash.  
  
****  
  
"Huh... So, three kids, one of which you know for sure can use magic,  
are coming through the caves towards Medina right now?"  
  
"That's *pant* right..." the Scout responded, exhausted from its swift  
retelling.  
  
Jesh looked out the door and saw three figures running towards Medina.  
"Tell me... Do these kids include a red-haired guy in blue, a girl   
with glasses in some wierd get-up and a blonde girl with a crossbow?"  
  
The Scout, not paying much attention to what Jesh had done, responded,  
"Yes... That's *huff* it exactly... *puff* How'd you *pant* guess?"  
It then caught on and exclaimed in alarm, "They're here?! They're   
here! No, no, no! They're here!"  
  
"Shut up," Jesh snapped at him. "Even if they can all use magic,   
there's no way they can stand up to me."  
  
"Oh. You-You're right, Lord Jesh. I don't know why I doubted your  
power." The Scout grinned, though, as one couldn't see its mouth, this  
was a fairly pointless action. "Go get revenge on them for Sir   
Krawlie!"  
  
Jesh raised an eyebrow. "Was that Krawlie really your whole life? You  
need to find better ways of existing than blind devotion. It's   
pathetic." He then walked outside, leaving the Scout panting on the  
floor.  
  
****  
  
The three teenagers skidded to a stop. "Well, I guess that answers the  
question of, 'Are they still here'..." Lucca mumbled when they saw the  
shrouded man walk out of one of the houses.  
  
"So, you're the ones who were able to handle Serus' little slaves," the  
man said while walking towards them. "I'm not impressed. Especially  
since he made them from the bodies of those little fools who tried to  
stand against us."  
  
The three heros gritted their teeth and balled their fists at his   
words.  
  
He, on the other hand, smiled. "The only thing of interest about you   
is that you can use magic. And all that means is that playing with you  
will be a bit more fun."  
  
He stopped walking as he finished speaking. A few Mystics peeked from  
their doorways. They saw that both were about a meter to the side of  
the crater that Jesh had created, about lined up with the outer edges   
of it.  
  
Crono stepped forward, obviously angered. "Who are you and why did you  
and those others do this?!"  
  
"Very well. My name is Jesh. The others' names aren't of much   
importance to you, as you're not going to know them personally. And   
why did I kill them, creating that lovely hole? Because they refused  
to listen to their elder's orders and attacked us. I merely acted in  
self-defense..." the man responded.  
  
Marle stepped next to Crono, just as enraged as he was. "You say that   
like you couldn't have spared them. You could definetly have held back  
on that spell!"  
  
Jesh smirked and shrugged. "That may be, but who's to say they   
wouldn't have interfered with us after that? These monsters don't have  
normal intelligence. If one tries to bite you and you smack it down,   
but don't kill it, you can be sure that, after it's recovered, it'll   
get right back up again and attack you. Killing them was necessary."  
  
Lucca drew her Wondershot and took her place next to her friends. "You  
call them monsters? All the Mystics I've ever met have been pretty  
reasonable, unless they'd been exposed to lots of brainwashing by the   
real bad guys. The only real monster I see around here is you."  
  
Jesh glared at her a bit.  
  
"And, since you think that it's necessary to kill any monsters that   
might get in the way..." Crono continued before drawing his Shiva Edge.  
"I've got to say I agree with you there."  
  
"You're going to regret taking the life of every one of those Mystics."  
Marle aimed her Siren at him before adding "Soon you'll know what they   
felt."  
  
Jesh took this in, then chuckled. "I really don't think that the three  
of you have any idea who you're dealing with here."  
  
"Oh, I know alright," Crono said, with a smile. "Marle, Lucca, Jess   
sounds like more of a girl's name, doesn't it?"  
  
"Oh yeah," Marle responded, playing along, "Definetly."  
  
Jesh was steaming at this point, before Lucca decided to add something.  
  
"Well, with that hood on, there's no way of knowing. She could just  
have a really deep voice." She then smiled and waved at the Jesh she  
was angering. "Hey, do you wanna go clothes shopping with Marle and me  
later?"  
  
"Oh, that's it!" Jesh shouted at her. "I was going to toy with you,   
but now you all die! Starting with you, ya ugly little bitch!"  
  
Lucca, from this, was twitching. "Ugly? Bitch!? How dare you!"  
  
Crono whispered to Marle, "I know this guy did something really   
horrible, but with Lucca going after him..."  
  
"I know what you mean. It's hard not to feel sorry for him," was the  
whispered response he recieved.  
  
Lucca had been reaching into her bag while this exchange of dialogue   
was going on and quickly found what she was looking for. She pulled  
out two large, gray Mega Bombs.  
  
"Here. Catch!" she shouted at him before lobbing them both towards   
him. Jesh, not being a fool, attempted to distance himself from them.  
  
They exploded, making two small holes near the large crater, but Jesh  
was nowhere near them.  
  
"Pathet--" Jesh began before he was cut off by the shock of seeing   
another Mega Bomb hurtling through the smoke of the first two right at   
him and the subsequent explosion. He was still unable to continue his  
word, provided he survived (a fact which will not be revealed right   
now), because of the several other explosions that followed that one.  
  
After she felt she had thrown enough, Lucca breathed deeply for a  
little while. "And THAT's what you get for messing with Lucca the   
Great!" she said, looking very pleased with herself.  
  
This expression vanished from her face when she heard Jesh's voice say,  
"Not bad... Granted, it was mostly my carelessness, but those things  
pack quite a punch."  
  
The smoke cleared, revealing him to be standing on a house, which had  
quite a lot of small craters before it. His cloak was partially on   
fire, but he paid it no mind.  
  
"This thing is slowing me down. Off it goes," he said before   
discarding it. When he did so, looks of surprise crossed the faces of  
Crono and the others.  
  
"He-- He looks almost exactly like Magus..." Marle said.  
  
"I'm glad you said that. I thought I was hallucinating..." Crono   
responded.  
  
The two of them were quite right to note a resemblance.  
  
"Hmm?" Jesh asked, caught offguard by comments and expressions, which   
implied the impossible: that these people knew Magus personally.  
  
The man had very long blue hair, somewhat pale skin, and wore a brown   
and purple outfit that was very similar to the kind Magus had worn.  
  
Before long, though, Jesh's astonishment faded as he came up with a  
logical explanation for their comments.  
  
"Ahh. So you've seen pictures of Magus in books or seen the statue of  
him somewhere. But yes, the similarity is quite striking if I do say  
so myself," Jesh told them.  
  
"Trust me. You're way off," Lucca responded.  
  
"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it's not that important. You couldn't  
have known him personally, so let's move on, shall we?" Jesh said as he  
jumped high from the roof and the heros saw a small red energy orb,  
apparentally forming in his hands.  
  
Lucca recognized it immediately. "Move it! I don't know how, but he's  
casting Fire Blast without the incantation!" This surprised Crono and  
Marle, but the three of them nevertheless scrambled to get far away   
from Jesh. Lucca turned out to have been absolutely right. The area  
that they had occupied was incinerated a few seconds later.  
  
Crono swung his blade in the direction of Jesh, realeasing the Shock  
wave he had known for so long. Jesh merely smirked and parried with   
his own weapon. Crono jumped towards him and began to go melee with  
him.  
  
Marle and Lucca looked at each other, nodded, and then began chanting.  
  
Marle chanted:  
"Essence of water...  
that lies in the world...  
solidify yourself..."  
  
As she did, a small crystalline object began forming before her.  
  
Meanwhile Lucca spoke the words:  
"Essence of fire...  
that lies in the world...  
burn onwards..."  
  
As Lucca did so, she spun around, with a growing ball of fire in her   
hand.  
  
The two girls made a momentary glance at each other, to ensure that   
they were both in sync. Then, in perfect unison, they chanted:  
  
"May the powers of fire and ice unite...  
to demonstrate their combined forces...  
and our combined wills..."  
  
They both thrust their collected energy towards Jesh.  
  
"ANTIPODE!"  
  
Crono heard this and pushed away from Jesh, while the two powers of ice  
and fire hurtled towards their target. They hit head on, Jesh not   
having enough reaction time to evade them. A large chunk of very hot  
ice formed around him and quickly disipated.  
  
He was obviously hurt, but not very seriously at all.  
  
"I guess this guy's loaded for bear," Marle said.  
  
"Nice Dual Tech. I didn't know you'd be capable of that," Jesh said,  
sounding impressed, but not very frightened, if he was at all.  
  
He then leaped at Crono and slashed him, while he was unawares.  
  
"Gah!" Crono shouted, as he hopped backwards, hand on his wound. He  
knew it was too deep for his liking. He really must be out of it to be  
so careless. If he hadn't moved out of the way, that attack could have  
very easily killed him.   
  
Fortunately for him, Marle was nearby adn walked forwards. A whitish   
light emanated from her. Moments later, the wound began to close up,  
leaving no scar. He was still hurt, but would be fine.  
  
"That was way too close. We've got to finish this soon," Crono said   
after Marle was done.  
  
"I think I know what you're getting at," Lucca responded with a smile.  
  
"Me too," Marle added. "So, let's get into our proper places."  
  
The three of them then surrounded Jesh.  
  
Jesh smiled at them. "So, you've seen that nothing you've got really   
works against me, and if I feel like it, I can very easily kill you   
all. So what are you to do? You obviously can't win."  
  
The three of them said not a word and merely smiled at him.  
  
Crono began his incantation:  
  
"Forces of electricity...  
that lie imbedded in the cosmos...  
gather yourself before me...  
to be released on my command..."  
  
As he did so, small sparkles of electricity gathered into a small orb  
in his hands.  
  
Marle spoke her words:  
  
"Forces of frost...  
that lie imbedded in the cosmos...  
gather yourself before me...  
to be released on my command..."  
  
As she did so, a small crystalline collection of ice began to gather  
before her.  
  
And Lucca chanted:  
  
"Forces of blaze...  
that lie imbedded in the cosmos...  
gather yourself before me...  
to be released on my command..."  
  
While she chanted, she spun around, with a rapidly growing ball of fire  
within her hand.  
  
The three then looked to their sides, catching each others' eyes. When  
they were all sure, they nodded. Jesh merely stood there, certain that  
whatever they tried would fail, but unable to ignore a nagging   
sensation that he should catch on to something here.  
  
The three heros spoke the same incantation, simultaneously:  
  
"Now unite the powers...  
of fire, ice and lightning...  
to create this beam of power...  
that will extend from earth into the heavens..."  
  
Jesh finally seemed to figure it out and his eyes widened. It was, of  
course, far too late, however.  
  
As they chanted, the accumulated powers of each moved between all three  
of them and back to the original producer of that elemental power,   
where it vanished, tracing a triangle amongst the three of them.  
  
They shouted the final two words:  
  
"DELTA FORCE!"  
  
An enormous surge of power shot up within the triangle, from the ground  
and into the sky, where Jesh stood, incapable of escape. It launched  
in waves: first fire, then ice, and finally lightning.  
  
Afterwards, the three observed Jesh falling to the ground, writhing in  
pain. "Such... power... Phen--" He paused as he coughed up a small  
amount of blood. "Phenomenal... Who... are you people?" He then fell  
unconscious.  
  
Meanwhile, a large eye peeked from a door, widened in astonishment.  
  
****  
  
"Serus... What's wrong now?" Mezuna asked as she stared at her very  
wide-eyed companion with some concern.  
  
"Th- They've--" he began.  
  
"They've beaten Jesh, haven't they?" the speaker asked, calmly.  
  
Surprised, Serus replied, "Y-Yes. They totally took him out. I know  
they could have killed him if they wanted to. And with Delta Force..."  
  
Mezuna's eyes widened at this point. "Those people can use Delta   
Force!? Please tell me you're kidding."  
  
"Now, Mezuna. Why would he kid about something this important?" the  
speaker asked. "Granted, I never would have expected it and am quite  
impressed, but nevertheless... No matter how powerful they are, they  
can't be as great as our combined power."  
  
"I- You're right, brother. There's nothing to worry about," Mezuna  
responded, calming down.  
  
"And Serus? Does one of those people have a pendant?" the speaker   
asked the young man.  
  
"Umm... Yes. The blonde girl has one," was Serus' reply. "It has a  
strange glow about it and-- Wait... You mean... That's THE   
pendant!?"  
  
The speaker smiled. "Of course. Now, Mezuna, land us in the forest   
near Guardia castle. We're going to confront these three when they get  
back."  
  
"Right," Mezuna replied. She turned back towards where Palidor's head  
was looking, to see that they were just now over the coast near Truce  
Village. The great bird dipped downwards and settled into the forest  
before it became no more. 


	10. The Scout's Sacrifice

Chapter 10 - The Scout's Sacrifice  
  
"So, they left for Guardia just a little bit before we arrived?"  
  
The Gargoyle who was being questioned nodded. "Yes, ma'am. One of the  
women who was with them chanted something strange, then a large   
beautiful bird appeared and carried them across the sea. I can't   
imagine what they'd want in Guardia, though..."  
  
Marle stepped forward. "Are you sure they didn't mention anything else  
before they left here?"  
  
A nearby Imp decided to pipe up. "Well, they did ask how long the   
ruins to the north had lost their pyramid. We had no choice but to   
tell them that it was about the time that those three teenagers from  
Guar..." He then took a closer look at the people who were listening   
to him. His eyes widened immediately afterwards. "Uh-oh... It looks  
like they're after you three now..."  
  
"Eh. Don't feel bad about it" Lucca replied. "They would be after us  
after they found out what we did to the guy they stationed here, so all  
they did was leave him here all alone."  
  
"That's right" Crono added. "Considering this guy's power, if the rest  
of his group had been here, we might have been in trouble."  
  
The Imp smiled at this.  
  
Marle turned towards the caves as she said, "In any case, they're on   
their way to Guardia to try to find us. Who knows what they'll do when  
they learn we aren't there."  
  
"You're right Marle" Lucca added. "We need to get back to Guardia   
right now."  
  
The three of them then took off for the caves.  
  
****  
  
The Scout watched, still undetected from the house where it had been  
hiding. It was still shaking. "Those... Those peo- monsters! They  
could take him out?! I need to get back to them right away before I'm  
next!"  
  
The Scout took off towards the caves, blazing past the three   
teenagers.  
  
****  
  
Marle blinked as they skidded to a stop while the thing shot past.   
"What was that?"  
  
"It looked sort of like a bat..." Lucca mused.   
  
Crono pondered for a moment before asking, "Lucca, do you think that   
Scout from earlier could have survived your bomb?"  
  
"Oh yeah. I completely forgot that I didn't hit it directly. It could  
definetly have avoided the explosion and flapped off somewhere. More  
specifically, to Medina, and now back into the caves. Even if it did,  
though, it's just a Scout. It might be going to alert them that we're   
on our way, but I doubt they'll be able to get something together in  
time."  
  
"You're probably right. Let's just hurry" Crono responded as they all  
headed off quickly into the caverns.  
  
****  
  
"They're on their way here, I take it."  
  
Serus jumped a little, startled. "Umm... Yes. They're chasing after  
that idiot Scout and should be here before too long."  
  
"Well, try to slow them down a little" the Speaker replied. "I'd   
prefer not to fight them at the moment and there are other ways to get   
what we need. All I require is some more time."  
  
"I'll see what I can do."  
  
Serus closed his eyes while the others watched in silence.  
  
Suddenly, a large demonic-looking bird swooped from a tree directly  
towards Serus, shrieking.  
  
The tallest shrouded member of the group seized his katana and leaped  
at the bird, dividing it into 7 equal parts within the span of 3   
seconds. He calmly landed, cleaned the blood off of his blade, then   
sat quietly, not a single other person having once moved a muscle.  
  
****  
  
The Scout panted as it neared a small pond of water. "Finally...   
here... Just... gotta... get... up... and-"  
  
'Halt'  
  
The Scout immediately obeyed, not because it was an order, but because  
the voice seemed to have spoken within its head.  
  
"L-L-Lord Serus?" it asked, more than a little afraid.  
  
'That's right. Listen, I need your help for something. You will   
assist me, will you not?'  
  
"W-Why of course, sir! Simply tell me what I must do and it shall be  
done!"  
  
'Good. Now, I just want you to close your eye for the moment...'  
  
The Scout obeyed as it flapped its wings three feet above the ground.  
  
"Alright, now what?"  
  
He heard Serus mumble some words in an ethereal voice:  
  
'To you I now grant the eye of darkness  
to see beyond what can be seen  
into the depths of death itself.  
  
SHADOW GAZE!'  
  
The Scout felt a wierd sensation spread throughout its eye. It wasn't  
painful; merely peculiar.  
  
'Now, open your eye.'  
  
The Scout was trembling about what he would see when he opened his eye,  
given the incantation, but did so after a few moment's hesitation.  
  
****  
  
Crono, Marle and Lucca stopped when they heard it.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Marle asked, sounding more than a little   
frightened.  
  
"Th-That was the most horrible sound I've ever heard from anything in  
my entire life!" Lucca said, looking a shade paler.  
  
"It sounded... like something that was in a state of absolute   
terror..." Crono said, a tone of fear in his voice.  
  
The three stood there in silence for a little while.  
  
"Well, we're not going to accomplish anything just standing here" Crono  
finally added. "Let's keep going."  
  
The three continued into the caves, their pulses noticibly faster.  
  
****  
  
In the clearing where the cloaked group sat, Serus shuddered. Despite  
all his practice and training, he had never been able to get over it.  
Still, he had come a tremendously long way. When he had done it for   
the first time, he had been forced to lie in bed, shivering, for a   
week. He had been haunted by their horrible expressions, their   
outstretched arms, their silent pleading. Even now, after being told  
that he was considered the best at it that had appeared in over 3  
centuries, he still had nightmares about it, frequently awaking in a  
cold sweat. He could only imagine what the Scout was going through.  
  
'A-Alright' he thought towards the creature, annoyed with himself that  
he was uncapable of keeping the fear out of his voice, 'Now, look   
around a little.'  
  
****  
  
"Sir Krawlie!!!" the Scout shouted. "I can't help you! I'm trying!  
Oh God, I'm trying! Please! Stop looking at me like that! I beg of  
you!"  
  
'Scout!' Serus shouted in the creature's head. 'G-Get a grip! Staring  
at that Krawlie won't help anyone! Now, look around. I need to find   
some powerful beings who perished near he-'  
  
"Sir Krawlie!" the Scout shouted again, ignoring Serus.  
  
It then felt a searing pain pulse throughout its body. It tried to   
fully absorb this agony, preferring it to the expression it could see  
on Krawlie's face.  
  
"I a-am sorry, my lord. Take this spell off of me once I've   
accomplished your task!" it said, looking around wildly.  
  
As it turned out, it didn't have to look for very long. The moment it  
spied a large blue creature with sharp teeth and claws in the fiery  
ether, it heard Serus say to it, 'Very good. That one will do quite  
nicely. Now close your eye.'  
  
The Scout instantly did so with great relief, but still clearly saw   
Krawlie's face distorted in anguish, sorrow and pleading.  
  
****  
  
Serus opened his eyes, breathing deeply as sweat dripped down his face.  
  
The Speaker looked across at him and asked, apparentally oblivious to   
his appearance, "So, how are you planning to stall them?"  
  
After a moment, the response he recieved was, "I was considering a  
Necromantic Meld."  
  
The Speaker smiled at this. "Hmm... That will definetly prove   
interesting. It's a shame we won't be able to watch."   
  
Mezuna spoke up. "Doesn't that spell require a willing living   
component? Where exactly are you going to find that?"  
  
Serus turned towards her. "Simple. The surviving Scout really cared  
about the Krawlie that they took out not too long ago. He'll be more  
than willing to lay down his life to help eradicate them."  
  
"Good, then" the Speaker said, smiling. "We'll either take care of   
them before they arrive, or greatly weaken them by the time they get  
here."  
  
Serus raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you think they might be  
victorious?"  
  
"I wouldn't rule it out. They defeated our companion with relative   
ease, didn't they?"  
  
"I suppose... It doesn't really matter. As you said: it will either  
kill them or weaken them. Either way, we'll get the pendant."  
  
****  
  
'Tell me, would you do anything to avenge Krawlie?'  
  
Had he been on the ground, the Scout would have jumped at the sudden  
sound of Serus' voice. He shortly replied, "Of course, Lord Serus!   
Those bastards took my only friend! There's no way I'm going to stand   
idly by while they get away with it!"  
  
'Would you give your life to help defeat them?'  
  
"In a heartbeat and without a single regret, my Lord!"  
  
'Good... Now, I need you to open up your eye and keep it open.   
Otherwise, any hope of you helping to defeat them won't exist.'  
  
"Right away!"  
  
The eye opened and again the Scout screamed in horror. He then heard  
Serus chanting.  
  
'Restless spirits of those who have left this world,  
Gather your rage, sorrow and bitterness   
and prepare yourselves for a second chance...'  
  
****  
  
Crono and the others soon came upon a familiar part of the caverns.  
  
"Well, looks like those Henches and Gargoyles are still konked out"  
Marle noted.   
  
"That's probably for the be-" Crono began before Lucca interrupted him  
while pointing at them.  
  
"What the hell are they doing?" she asked, sounding fearful. Crono and  
Marle looked and saw why: the bodies were rising off of the ground and  
hovering in the air before shooting off down the caves.  
  
"I just know that Scout we saw is involved with this" Crono said. "We   
really need to hurry now."  
  
The girls didn't need to hear this twice and all three headed after the  
bodies.  
  
****  
  
The Scout was feeling very afraid as it saw some of the many bones on  
the floor rise and zip over to the pond before dunking themselves in.  
An unearthly red glow shone forth shortly afterwards, as he heard Serus  
continue his incantation:  
  
'Entwine your souls with your bodies,  
and know the gift of life once more...'  
  
The Scout now watched as the large blue creature and the Krawlie   
drifted into the pond. He then beheld several of Serus' earlier   
minions' bodies, along with what had remained of Krawlie's body after  
the bomb, entering the room and splashing into the pond, the red glow   
growing ever brighter.  
  
'Become one with each other,  
and the one who offers his life to you...'  
  
The Scout thought it detected a note of sadness in Serus' voice as he  
spoke the last line. It was then aware that it was being pulled into  
the pond. 'The one who offers his life to you...' the Scout mused. It  
then realized what that meant. 'I said I was willing to give my   
life... Lord Serus knows what he's doing. Those people will pay for  
what they did to Sir Krawlie! I only wish it could have been   
different...'   
  
It entered the red glow and felt the worst pain it had ever felt in its  
entire life. It felt as though its body were splitting into each of   
its individual parts. Worse than that, it felt as though something it  
had never realized it had ever had was leaving it. The Scout felt an  
emptiness that it had never thought one could ever feel.   
  
It then saw something that looked exactly like it, but transparent and   
otherworldly, drifting past it, before it began expanding and consuming  
everything within the pond. It knew instinctively that the thing was  
its soul. And the emptiness that it felt was caused by its loss. It  
knew that its body and soul were combining with all of the others in   
the pond, but it had never felt so alone, even though he could still  
hear Serus' voice, completing the incantation:  
  
'Know power you would have never known in life...  
Surrender your will to the giver's soul,  
and accomplish his final request...'  
  
"NECROMANTIC MELD!"  
  
****  
  
Crono and the others entered just as these final words were heard by   
what was left of the Scout. Oddly, they heard his voice utter the   
final two words quite clearly, sounding as though it had come from the  
pond.  
  
The three stood speechless as they watched the crimson glow become  
even more intense. They then saw the glow continue as a long arm that  
looked as though its muscles were somewhere between solidity and decay,  
with bone showing through the numerous gaps, reached out of the pond   
and grasped the side. Marle and Lucca gasped just before it was joined  
by a second arm. The claws on them looked especially sharp. Not to   
mention somehow familiar...  
  
Crono drew his Shiva Edge and readied it. After a moment, Marle did  
the same with her Valkyrie and Lucca with her Wondershot.  
  
After a moment, the rest of the creature lurched from the depths. The  
entire group had no choice but to stare at the horrible abomination   
before them. Like its arms, its muscle and flesh were missing in large  
areas throughout it and rotting in many areas where it remained. The  
entire body, bones, muscles, and flesh, looked as though they had been   
formed from numerous sources. The torso took up most of it and, in   
fact, a good deal of the cavern. The head possessed a mouth with a   
large number of very sharp and, once again, somehow familiar teeth.   
All of this was nothing compared to the horror that came from the   
creature's single, large eye. It looked somehow like the eyes of  
the undead Mystics, but there seemed to be a determined, enraged and,  
somehow, willing appearance to its dead look.  
  
"H-Holy crap..." was all Lucca had to say and her companions agreed in  
silence.  
  
"Ahh... So... you've... arrived... right on... time..."  
  
The three looked around for the source of the voice and, failing to   
find it, Crono stepped forward and demanded, "Who are you and what the   
hell did you do?"  
  
There was a brief period of time in which the creature merely rested   
there, mostly submerged, while the sound of deep breathing was heard  
from the unseen voice.  
  
"I am Serus. And this is a Necromantic Meld created from many bodies  
and souls, who were seperated in or near this cave. Brought together,  
their power is very great indeed. Nevermind the desire of your  
destruction that it bears from the Scout who gave his soul to bring   
this into existence. You killed his only friend, you see, and he now  
thirsts for your blood, which I'm certain he'll get rather a lot of  
very soon."  
  
There was silence for a period. Marle took a step forward, a regretful  
look on her face. "That Scout... cared so much about that Krawlie that  
he'd give up his own life?"  
  
"More than just his life" they heard Serus say, sounding sad. "Unlike   
that Krawlie and Heckran, the other two main components of this Meld,   
that Scout will cease to exist entirely, once the spell wears off,   
which will happen regardless of if you destroy it or it destroys you."  
  
Crono stepped forward, wearing an expression of remorse. "You sound   
like you really regret doing that..."  
  
Serus didn't speak for a moment. "That is... because I do. Anyone who  
would be willing to give up their life for any cause is worthy of my  
respect. I feel nothing but despair, knowing that he is not only no  
longer alive, but that it was by my hand that he entered such a state."  
  
Lucca took a short dash forward, looking enraged, but also tearful.   
"If you regret it, then why did you have to do it? What the hell is so  
important that you would allow a situation like that to even exist?   
You and the others are obviously powerful to not need lackies, so why  
did you leave some behind? I wouldn't have killed that Krawlie and the  
Scout wouldn't have sacrificed himself!"  
  
Again, there was silence. When Serus spoke again, it sounded as though  
he did so on the verge of tears. "You're right. It was a pointless  
waste. We never should have done it. What we're doing it for may not  
even be worth it. But... No. I can't say any more. Whether or not  
you survive, just know that I will nightly pray for an early death.   
Then, perhaps, I'll be able to stop suffering from remorse. But,   
there's no going back now... Farewell."  
  
And so, they were alone with the creature once more, and looking into  
its eye, they now saw a sign of regret, but still determination. With  
heavy hearts, they prepared to fight.  
  
****  
  
Serus finally opened his eyes. "There. I've done what I can. They'll  
either die, or be too weak to assault us with much success."  
  
"Good, then" the Speaker said, standing up, not noticing Serus' tears.   
"In that case, let's go get a little insurance that the pendant will   
wind up in our possession..." 


End file.
